I didn't do much with the original F units, but I did get to walk through them a few times. I did get to walk through some F45's screaming wide open, as well as SD60W's and C40-8W's. It was a little unnerving, but I suspect it was akin to working in a WWII diesel powered submarine.
I have heard guys say that they would rather not walk through a carbody unit under load on the chance that some of the machinery lets loose right next to them. I have told them that if they were on the walkway of a road unit and it through a rod that the flimsy door would not be enough to keep them from getting seriously phukked,
I may be wrong but I would think that the worst part about passing between two E's or F's would be through the nose door when they are set up in a way that both "F" thingy's are facing each other.
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Some people say I have a bad attitude. Those people are stupid.
I used to hear a story about a New York Central fireman somewhere in the Buckeye state who was walking back through the power when a rod let loose, came through the door at the same time he was walking by, and that was all she wrote for that poor fireboy. Don't know where anymore but heard the story a couple of times, at least.
Krink, I only made one trip on a covered wagon and I walked through the engineroom, just for the experience. Yeah, real noisy. Maybe a real old head like Snippy can chime in, from his high-wheelin' days (daze?) with the Green Team. Or perhaps FMB can rouse himself enough to tell us about his early days working on a nearly forgotten part of his road, if it wasn't too much of a daze for him then. When did BN use their last covered wagons, anyway? Uke?
Oh, and that other old guy, I bet he can tell us about WP covered wagons.
Had an SD-40 throw a rod under load...at the #16 position... Checking gov., oil press., crankcase vacuum, etc... When she let go, it blew the carbody doors open, flashed oil across the entire walkway, the crank hand-hole cover went flying... Then the thing caught fire!
Chuck grabbed the extinguisher and sprayed out the door... Fuckin' mess! They (2LARRCO) sent that one ta Topeka for rebuilding. That was 2009.
I dove...literally off the ass end! My electrician Chuck, was behind the throttle watching me when she took off... He called "Emergency," "Emergency," 'Emergency," and the roundhouse gang came running out...
Lucky for me I just got a couple lungfuls of fumes...but I was just about ta check that very spot, then work back to the start station/gov. station/load reg.
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Hmm. That address doesnt look right. It looks like the link pointing here was faulty.
Spokane ran Fs on a few branches until mid '81. The Couer d' Alene, the Kettle turns, and some of the 'granger' branch lines. Worked on 'em till then, and saw the last few put inta storage. By 1982 they were gone, replaced by 38s in most cases.
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Hmm. That address doesnt look right. It looks like the link pointing here was faulty.
